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WORK TITLE: THE WEATHER’S BET
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WEBSITE: http://edyoungart.com/
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COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 323
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PERSONAL
Born November 28, 1931, in Tianjin, China; immigrated to United States, 1951; naturalized U.S. citizen; son of Qua-Ling and Yuen Teng Young; married, 1962 (divorced, 1969); married Natasha Gorky, June 1, 1971 (deceased); children: Antonia, one younger daughter.
EDUCATION:Attended City College of San Francisco, 1952, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1952-54; Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, CA), B.F.A., 1957; graduate study at Pratt Institute, 1958-59.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Children’s book illustrator and author. Mel Richman Studio, New York, NY, illustrator and designer, 1957-62; Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, instructor in visual communications, 1960-66; Shu Jung Tai Chi Chuan School, New York, NY, secretary and instructor, 1964-73, director, 1973; Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, instructor, beginning 1975. Has also taught at Pratt Institute, Naropa Institute, Yale University, and University of California at Santa Cruz. Exhibitions: Works have been exhibited at galleries, including Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, TX, 2003; and National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, Abilene, TX, 2012.
AWARDS:American Institute of Graphic Arts award, 1962, for The Mean Mouse and Other Mean Stories by Janice Urdry; Notable Children’s Book designation, American Library Association, 1967, for The Emperor and the Kite edited by Jane Yolen, 1981, for High on a Hill, 1982, for Yeh Shen by Ah-Ling Louie, 1988, for Cats Are Cats edited by Nancy Larrick, 1989, for Lon Po Po, 1992, for Seven Blind Mice, 2001, for The Hunter by Mary Casanova, 2008, for Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, 2010, for Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa, 2012, for The House Baba Built, and 2013, for Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta; Caldecott Medal Honor designation, 1968, for The Emperor and the Kite; Horn Book Honor designation and Child Study Association Book Award, both 1969, both for Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes; The Girl Who Loved the Wind was named a Children’s Book Showcase selection, 1973; Anne Izard Storyteller’s Choice designation, 1983, for Up a Tree, 1988, for Cats Are Cats, and 2000, for The Hunter; Child Study Association Book of the Year designation, 1978, for The Terrible Nung Gwama; Trento Graphic Arts Award, 1980, for The Lion and the Mouse; New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book selection, 1984, for Up a Tree, and 1988, for Cats Are Cats; Caldecott Medal and Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, both 1990, both for Lon Po Po; U.S. nominee for Hans Christian Andersen Award, 1992, 2002; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, 1992, and Caldecott Honor Book selection, 1993, both for Seven Blind Mice; New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing selection, 1992, for Seven Blind Mice, 1997, for Pinocchio, 2000, for The Hunter, and 2004, for both I, Doko and The Sons of the Dragon King; Aesop’s Accolade Award, 1996, for The Turkey Girl by Penny Pollock; Mazza Medallion of Excellence for Artistic Diversity, 2002; Asian Pacific Award and New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book selections, both 2008, both for Wabi Sabi; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People selection, National Council for the Social Studies/Children’s Book Council, 2012, for The House Baba Built.
WRITINGS
Also illustrator of film Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, based on the story by Eleanor Coerr.
SIDELIGHTS
A critically acclaimed author and illustrator of children’s books, Ed Young often draws on the folklore and folktales of his native China for inspiration. Creating artwork for the texts of others as well as illustrating original tales and adaptations, Young has garnered praise for the elegant and evocative visual images that brought to life his own texts in Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China and The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China, as well as in appearing in books such as Mark Reibstein’s Wabi Sabi and Barbara DaCosta’s Nighttime Ninja. Often working in mixed-media collage or with charcoals and pastels, Young evokes the aesthetic of Chinese art in his illustrations. Not surprisingly, he cites the philosophy of Chinese painters as his inspiration. “Young is one of those illustrators not to be missed,” wrote M.P. Dunleavey in the New York Times Book Review.
Born in a Chinese coal-mining town and raised in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Young exhibited a talent for drawing early in life. After he immigrated to the United States on a student visa at age nineteen, he studied architecture but soon turned to art. Following graduation from the Los Angeles Art Center College of Design, Young moved to New York City where he embarked on a career in advertising design. During his lunch breaks, he sketched animals at the city zoo, and when the studio for which he worked went out of business, a friend suggested that Young try his hand at illustrating children’s books. Although he was reluctant—he did not want to draw cartoons, as he mistakenly thought all children’s books were—Young agreed to illustrate Janice M. Udry’s The Mean House, and Other Mean Stories, which was released in 1962. Since that time, Young has earned a host of honors for his work, including awards from the American Institute of Graphic Artists, the Child Study Association, and the American Library Association.
Young earned a prestigious Caldecott Medal in recognition of the talent exhibited in his self-illustrated Lon Po Po. The story of three sisters who outwit an evil wolf that sneaks into their home, Lon Po Po features a text translated from the Chinese by Young. Reviewing the work in School Library Journal, John Philbrook commented that the author/illustrator’s “gripping variation of Red Riding Hood … possesses that matter-of-fact veracity that characterizes the best fairy tales.” Writing in the Los Angeles Times Book Review, George Shannon observed that, “rather than illustrating only the words of his tale … Young has given new life to its metaphoric essence and created a book to savor.” Philbrook maintained that Young’s “outstanding achievement … will be pored over again and again,” and Carolyn Phelan asserted in Booklist that Lon Po Po is a “must for folklore and storytelling collections.”
Young shares Chinese myth and folklore with Western readers through several other illustrated retellings. In Red Thread, a story of matchmaking and destiny, he “dapples his pages with delectable clouds of pastels and watercolors,” a Kirkus Reviews writer noted, while in Booklist Phelan cited the “ethereal” nature of the book’s artwork. Little Plum, another Chinese fable, has the tiny defeating the powerful when a boy the size of a plum seed outsmarts an evil lord and overcomes the lord’s soldiers. “The narration moves as nimbly as Little Plum himself,” commented Elizabeth Bush in a review of Little Plum for the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Bush further noted that “Young has a field day playing with perspectives in his ruggedly textured pastels.”
With Monkey King Young adapts Chinese myth for a “strikingly designed Buddhist tale,” as Booklist critic Gillian Engberg described the picture book. With the explosion of a rock, a monkey suddenly emerges, setting off this trickster tale as the monkey outwits adversaries and also gets himself on the wrong side of others. “Young’s dynamic artwork and his mercurial transitions between spreads mimic Monkey’s own shape-shifting,” noted a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, the reviewer characterizing Monkey King as “deliciously unpredictable reading.” As Engberg further remarked in Booklist, Young’s language is “lively and rich,” and his cut-paper collages “beautifully illustrate the action-hero excitement.”
In both Voices of the Heart and Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem about China Young shares his knowledge of Chinese calligraphy and also explores the meaning behind many of its characters. In the first he examines twenty-six symbols that represent personal traits such as virtue, shame, and mercy, while in the second he focuses on pictographic seal-style characters representing aspects of the natural world. With Voices of the Heart “Young pushes the envelope of picture-book illustration once again,” creating an “unusual combination of image and language,” wrote Janice M. Del Negro in the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Calling the illustrations for Beyond the Mountains “Matisse-inspired,” a Kirkus Reviews writer found the book to be a “lovely tribute to ‘the hidden wisdom of symbols.’”
Young serves up more traditional Chinese fare in Night Visitors, which introduces a young man who believes that, because all living things are equally worthy, he must find a way to deal with the ants that plague his father’s storehouse without killing them. Julie Cummins noted in School Library Journal that the “deftly crafted story concludes with a message of respect for all forms of life,” while Rochman called attention to “exquisite illustrations” that “express the changing point of view that is the heart of the story.” In Mouse Match: A Chinese Folktale a father mouse travels to the four corners of the Earth in search of the perfect husband for his daughter. A reviewer for Booklist noted that Young’s folktale retelling here “is inventively illustrated with collages and innovatively designed with pages that fold out to tell the story.”
Chinese values are further revealed in The Lost Horse, in which a man who loves only a fantastical horse comes to discover that things are not as good or bad as they appear on the surface. “This story is an excellent springboard for a discussion of the changing nature of life,” noted Marianne Saccardi in a School Library Journal review of The Lost Horse. Another story that couches an important lesson in its pages, The Sons of the Dragon King follows nine self-indulgent dragon princes as they are sent forth by their kingly father to seek the means by which their unique abilities can create goodness in the world. Along with cut-paper collage, Young “depicts each son in an expressive ink wash” that is full of “movement and humor,” noted a Kirkus Reviews writer, while a Publishers Weekly writer noted that the book possesses “a design as elegant and lively as the prose is clear.”
Mining cultural traditions has yielded a continuous store of inspiration for Young. Praised as “a superb rendition of a tale with universal resonance,” I, Doko: The Tale of a Basket is a Nepalese story about learning to value each of life’s stages, while his Caldecott honor book Seven Blind Mice retells the East Indian story “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” “The story unfolds in a series of striking paper collages ingeniously arranged on a background of black bordered in white,” according to Mandy Cheetham in a Magpies review of the latter story. A School Library Journal critic deemed I, Doko a “perfect picture book” that is “brilliantly elegant in design and artwork.”
Young has occasionally borrowed from LaFontaine and Aesop, as in his retelling of Donkey Trouble, in which a simple man and his grandson go off to market to sell their donkey. Along the way, they are mocked for the manner in which they are traveling and finally, after trying to please everyone, end up pleasing no one. Young transplants this tale to a Mid-Eastern desert, creating a “striking picture book” and “an elegant retelling,” according to Judith Constantinides in School Library Journal. In Moon Mother he introduces a Native-American creation myth. “Images within images add visual layers of meaning to the complex creation myth, which Young tells with deceptive simplicity” noted Janice Del Negro in a Booklist review of the work.
While most of Young’s books present universal themes, several are personal in nature. My Mei-Mei focuses on the growing relationship between the two daughters Young and his wife adopted from China. The story follows older sister Antonia as she wishes for a “mei-mei” (little sister), then realizes that the new family member demands an unfair amount of attention. Ultimately, My Mei-Mei depicts what a Kirkus Reviews writer called a “tender celebration of love flowering between sisters” as the baby grows and Antonia realizes the important role she has in her mei mei’s life. As Engberg noted in her Booklist review, Young’s story shares “the small moments that hold [the sisters] … fiercely together,” while his “vibrant collage illustrations joyously extend the spare, direct words.”
In The House Baba Built, an illustrated memoir coauthored with Libby Koponen, Young recounts events from his childhood in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation of that city. His father, an American-trained engineer, designed and constructed a sprawling residential complex that served as both a home for his growing family and a refuge for family and friends in need of protection. Young’s book, Terry Hong suggested in the New York Times Book Review, “is as intricately constructed as his father’s house, with pages that extend and open to reveal additional detail and memories.” According to Booklist critic Phelan, the author’s use of textured materials, photos, architectural diagrams, and sketches “create striking visual and textural effects in collages that suggest both the sharpness and the patchy quality of childhood memories.”
Young has also found numerous opportunities to share the themes that underlay his personal philosophy in illustrating the stories of others. In Dennis Haseley’s Twenty Heartbeats his “arresting limited-color collage work” captures the nuanced story about the nature of true art, according to a Kirkus Reviews writer. Young “uses a panoply of papers to create collages that tell the story of a sacrifice that saved hundreds of lives” in his work for Kimiko Kajikawa’s Tsunami!, according to School Library Journal contributor Kathy Krasniewicz. Described by School Library Journal contributor Be Astengo as “hauntingly beautiful,” his pastel images for Robert Burleigh’s Tiger of the Snows: Tenzing Norgay, the Boy Whose Dream Was Everest “capture the mystery and grandeur” of the mountainous setting, and a Kirkus Reviews writer praised the book’s “spectacular pastels.”
Young’s “beautiful collages have an almost 3-D effect and perfectly complement the spiritual, lyrical text” in Reibstein’s Wabi Sabi, according to School Library Journal writer Kara Schaff Dean. Named a New York Times best illustrated children’s book, Wabi Sabi focuses on a cat’s desire to discover the meaning of its name. With that simple promise, Reibstein’s story also deals with Chinese culture and its interest in origins. In his illustrations for the book, which Joanna Rudge Long described in the New York Times Book Review as “rich in leaf greens and glowing reds.” Young “captures moments of transcendent beauty … and his art incorporates traditional haiku references.”
Young’s illustration projects have continued to showcase his diversity. Ashley Ramsden’s Seven Fathers retells a Norwegian folktale about a lone traveler who stumbles upon a cabin in the snowy woods. According to Thom Barthelmess in Booklist, the collage illustrations created by Young “combine straightforward representations with more enigmatic symbolism,” such as an image of a drinking horn comprised of a satellite photo of suburban tract development. In The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant, Michelle Cuevas’s fantastic story of a boy raised on the back of a pachyderm, his pen-and-ink drawings “ground the proceedings, conveying remarkable emotional weight in a few gestures,” as Barthelmess noted.
Young’s cut-and torn-paper collage images were cited as a highlight of A Strange Place to Call Home: The World’s Most Dangerous Habitats and the Animals That Call Them Home, a verse collection by Marilyn Singer. Writing in School Library Journal, Susan Scheps noted that the artist “has created a series of perfectly engineered stylized pieces that accurately portray the poeticized creatures.” He also employs collage techniques in Barbara DaCosta’s award-winning picture book Nighttime Ninja, which dramatizes a youngster’s daring efforts to procure a late-night snack. As Horn Book contributor Ashley Waring remarked, Young’s “cut-paper and cloth illustrations do the heavy lifting here, imbuing the tale with mystery, beauty, and emotion.”
The Cat from Hunger Mountain, written and illustrated by Young, “weaves an elegant cautionary fable,” noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Lord Cat lives in a luxurious pagoda high up on Hunger Mountain. Like many arrogant rulers, he believes he is better than everyone around him. His clothing is the finest available. He has so much rice that he wastes half a bowl or more every time he eats. Eventually, however, a drought strikes and the rice crop fails, leaving Lord Cat with little rice to eat. His servants and the local farmers go hungry or move away. Lord Cat himself eventually has to go into the local village to beg for food. There, he hears a story about a local monk who has plentiful amounts of rice that he gives away to those in need. To his surprise, Lord Cat discovers that the source of this monk’s bounty was the vast amounts of rice that were washed down the river after being thrown out of his palace. “Young’s original fable has no stated moral, but it could open up several topics for discussion,” observed Booklist contributor Carolyn Phelan. Horn Book writer Megan Dowd Lambert noted that “humility and gratitude intertwine in the redemptive ending.”
Mighty Moby, written by Barbara DaCosta, is based on the literary classic Moby Dick by Herman Melville. At the beginning of the book, the crew of a whaling vessel are ready to head home after an arduous stint at sea. But they can’t go yet—the captain is after the great white whale, and he won’t give up until the creature is capture or killed. When the lookout signals that the whale has been sighted, the tension ramps up as the captain hurls his harpoon at Moby, embedding the cruel weapon into the creature’s flesh. In a wild fight, the whale pulls the captain and his crew underwater where they will surely meet their doom.
On the next page, however, readers discover a vital secret: the Moby Dick of the story is only a whale toy, and the mighty ocean is actually a youngster’s bathtub. The adventure is a testament to the imagination of young children and to the inspiration that classic stories can provide. Young has “assembled a vivid and thoughtful introduction to Melville’s celebrated American epic,” commented Horn Book contributor Patrick Gall. “Stunning illustrations and authentic words grace this unusually sophisticated picture book,” commented a Kirkus Reviews writer.
In Should You Be a River: A Poem about Love, Young writes a poetic work in tribute to his late wife. Young finds parallels between the natural world and the love he felt for his wife, and uses images from nature to explain how he will react to her, and continue to love her, no matter what form she might take. For example, he states in the title couplet, “Should you be a river … I’ll race your rapids downstream,” noted a Publishers Weekly writer. Readers who “understand Young’s loss or who have known what it is to love unreservedly will be drawn to his testament,” commented a Publishers Weekly contributor.
Young’s work in total presents “visually delightful works of the imagination, as well as countless adaptations and re-tellings of the old folk tales and fables of our world, often rendered in paper-collage,” noted a writer on the Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast blog. In an interview on the website Cynsations, Young offers some of his best advice to new writers and artists who want to enter the children’s illustration and literature field: “Know that picture book illustration is not a money-making profession. Do not allow that to hold the ‘artist’ in you on a leash and lead you astray. (It even happens to some of the successful people.) Challenge yourself to resist shortcuts and complacency or to fall prey to trendy books. Anything worth making deserves your best effort. The richness is in your spirit, not in your pocket.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Children’s Literature Review, Volume 27, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1992.
St. James Guide to Children’s Writers, 5th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.
Silvey, Anita, editor, Children’s Books and Their Creators, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995.
PERIODICALS
Booklist, November 15, 1989, Carolyn Phelan, review of Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China, p. 672; March 1, 1993, Carolyn Phelan, review of Red Thread, p. 1233; October 15, 1993, Janice Del Negro, review of Moon Mother: A Native-American Creation Tale, pp. 439-440; September 15, 1995, Hazel Rochman, review of Night Visitor, p. 174; November 1, 1995, Carolyn Phelan, review of Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac, p. 1995; January 1, 1998, review of Mouse Match: A Chinese Folktale, p. 736; February 1, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of Monkey King, p. 1058; May 15, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of The Sons of the Dragon King: A Chinese Legend, p. 1617; December 1, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of I, Doko: The Tale of a Basket, p. 652; November 1, 2005, Carolyn Phelan, review of Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem about China, p. 48; January 1, 2006, Gillian Engberg, review of My Mei Mei, p. 104; May 1, 2008, Carolyn Phelan, review of Twenty Heartbeats, p. 94; September 1, 2008, Ilene Cooper, review of Wabi Sabi, p. 98; June 1, 2009, Kristen McKulski, review of Hook, p. 64; March 1, 2011, Thom Barthelmess, review of Seven Fathers, p. 66; September 1, 2011, Carolyn Phelan, review of The House Baba Build: An Artist’s Childhood in China, p. 102, and Thom Barthelmess, review of The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant, p. 122; October 1, 2012, Thom Barthelmess, review of Nighttime Ninja, p. 53; October 15, 2012, Angela Leeper, review of A Strange Place to Call Home: The World’s Most Dangerous Habitats and the Animals That Call Them Home, p. 43; November 1, 2016, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Cat from Hunger Mountain, p. 64; October 1, 2018, Maryann Owen, review of Yugen, p. 84; February 15, 2019, Andrew Medlar, review of Smile: How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry), p. 40; September 1, 2019, Kay Weisman, review of Catastrophe by the Sea, p. 110.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, October, 1994, Elizabeth Bush, review of Little Plum, p. 71; April, 1997, Janice M. Del Negro, review of Voices of the Heart, p. 301.
Five Owls, March-April, 2006, Jennifer M. Brabander, review of My Mei Mei, p. 178.
Horn Book, July-August, 2002, Mary M. Burns, review of What about Me?, p. 477; November-December, 2004, Joanna Rudge Long, review of I, Doko, p. 704; May-June, 2009, Joanna Rudge Long, review of Hook, p. 288; September-October, 2011, Joanna Rudge Long, review of The House Baba Built, p. 118; November-December, 2012, Ashley Waring, review of Nighttime Ninja, p. 68; March-April, 2015, Thom Barthelmess, review of Bird & Diz, p. 76; November-December, 2016, Megan Dowd Lambert, review of The Cat from Hunger Mountain, p. 67; May-June, 2017, Patrick Gall, review of Mighty Moby, p. 73.
Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 1993, review of Red Thread, p. 70; September 15, 1995, review of Donkey Trouble, p. 1360; October 1, 1997, review of Mouse Match, p. 1540; April 1, 1998, review of The Lost Horse, p. 504; April 15, 2004, review of The Sons of the Dragon King, p. 403; November 15, 2004, review of I, Doko, p. 1095; September 1, 2005, review of Beyond the Great Mountains, p. 985; February 1, 2006, review of My Mei Mei, p. 139; May 15, 2006, review of Tiger of the Snows: Tenzing Norgay, the Boy Whose Dream Was Everest, p. 514; March 15, 2008, review of Twenty Heartbeats; September 15, 2008, review of Wabi Sabi; December 1, 2008, review of Tsunami!; March 15, 2011, review of Seven Fathers; September 1, 2011, review of The House Baba Built; June 1, 2017, review of Mighty Moby; August 15, 2018, review of Yugen; February 1, 2019, review of Smile; July 15, 2019, review of Catastrophe by the Sea; January 15, 2020, review of The Weather’s Bet.
Los Angeles Times Book Review, December 10, 1989, George Shannon, “Of Metaphors and a Boy Flat as a Page,” p. 9.
Magpies, November, 1994, Mandy Cheetham, review of Seven Blind Mice, p. 24.
New York Times Book Review, May 5, 1996, M.P. Dunleavey, reviews of Cat and Rat and Night Visitors, both p. 27; November 13, 2005, Beth Gutcheon, review of My Mei Mei, p. 40; November 9, 2008, Joanna Rudge Long, review of Wabi Sabi, p. 35; October 14, 2012, Pamela Paul, review of Nighttime Ninja, p. 18.
Publishers Weekly, April 27, 1998, review of The Lost Horse, p. 66; January 15, 2001, review of Monkey King, p. 74; May 24, 2004, review of The Sons of the Dragon King, p. 61; November 8, 2004, review of I, Doko, p. 54; September 19, 2005, Valiska Gregory, “East Meets West,” p. 65, and review of Beyond the Great Mountains, p. 64; January 9, 2006, review of My Mei Mei, p. 52; June 5, 2006, review of Tiger of the Snows, p. 64; February 21, 2011, review of Seven Fathers, p. 132; July 23, 2012, review of Nighttime Ninja, p. 54; August 13, 2012, review of A Strange Place to Call Home, p. 68; February 16, 2015, “Finding Love in Nature,” review of Should You Be a River: A Poem about Love; December 2, 2015, review of Should You Be a River, p. 32; December 2, 2015, review of Bird & Diz, p. 43; October 3, 2016, review of The Cat from Hunger Mountain, p. 123; December 2, 2016, review of The Cat from Hunger Mountain, p. 27; February 18, 2019, review of Yugen, p. 93; January 7, 2019, review of Smile, p. 57; January 13,, 2020, review of The Weather’s Bet, p. 59.
School Library Journal, December, 1989, John Philbrook, review of Lon Po Po, p. 97; November, 1993, Ruth K. MacDonald, review of Moon Mother, p. 103; October, 1995, Julie Cummins, review of Night Visitors, p. 130; December, 1995, Margaret A. Chang, review of Cat and Rat, p. 101; December, 1995, Judith Constantinides, review of Donkey Trouble, p. 101; June, 1997, John Philbrook, review of Voices of the Heart, p. 150; April, 1998, Marianne Saccardi, review of The Lost Horse, p. 127; January, 2000, review of Seven Blind Mice, p. 58; December, 2000, Daryl Grabarek, review of Desert Song, p. 112; February 2001, Carol Ann Wilson, review of Monkey King, p. 108; June, 2002, Dona Ratterree, review of What about Me?, p. 127; June, 2004, Grace Oliff, review of The Sons of the Dragon King, p. 134; November, 2004, Lauralyn Persson, review of I, Doko, p. 120; October, 2005, Carol L. MacKay, review of Beyond the Great Mountains, p. 196; February, 2006, Kate McClelland, review of My Mei Mei, p. 112; June, 2006, Be Astengo, review of Tiger of the Snows, p. 134; April, 2008, Wendy Lukehart, review of Twenty Heartbeats, p. 110; September, 2008, Kara Schaff Dean, review of Wabi Sabi, p. 157; January, 2009, Kathy Krasniewicz, review of Tsunami!, p. 76; June, 2009, Margaret Bush, review of Hook, p. 102; March, 2011, Caroline Ward, review of Seven Fathers, p. 132; December, 2011, Marie Orlando, review of The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant, p. 112; September, 2012, Susan Scheps, review of A Strange Place to Call Home, p. 134; September, 2012, Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, review of Nighttime Ninja, p. 112; October, 2018, Wendy Lukehart, reveiw of Yugen, p. 94; March, 2019, Wendy Lukehart, review of Smile, p. 125; September, 2019, Amy Shepherd, review of Catastrophe by the Sea, p. 103; February, 2020, Mary Lanni, review of The Weather’s Bet, p. 50.
Washington Post Book World, July 4, 2004, Elizabeth Ward, review of The Sons of the Dragon King, p. 11.
ONLINE
American Library Association Website, http://www.ala.org/ (December 12, 2012), Mary Voors, “Author Spotlight: Ed Young.”
Cynsations, http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ (October 22, 2017), interview with Ed Young.
Ed Young Website, http://www.edyoungart.com (October 22, 2017).
Embracing the Child, http://www.embracingthechild.org/ (October 22, 2017), profile of Ed Young.
Harrison Public Library Website, http://www.harrisonpl.org/ (February 4, 2013), Jennie Yang, “Ed Young, Renowned Chinese American Writer and Illustrator,” biography of Ed Young.
Kimiko Kajikawa Website, http://www.author4kids.com/ (October 22, 2017), biography of Ed Young.
Lee and Low Books Website, http://www.leeandlow.com/ (October 22, 2017), interview with Ed Young.
Scholastic Website, http://www.scholastic.com/ (October 22, 2017), biography of Ed Young.
Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast, http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/ (February 9, 2009), interview with Ed Young.*
Caldecott Medalist Ed Young is the illustrator of over eighty books for children, seventeen of which he has also written. He finds inspiration for his work in the philosophy of Chinese painting.
“A Chinese painting is often accompanied by words,” explains Young. “They are complementary. There are things that words do that pictures never can, and likewise, there are images that words can never describe.”
Born in Tientsin, China, Ed Young grew up in Shanghai and later moved to Hong Kong. As a young man, he came to the United States on a student visa to study architecture but turned instead to his love of art.
Young began his career as a commercial artist in advertising and found himself looking for something more expansive, expressive, and timeless. He discovered all this, and more, in children’s books.
The subject and style of each story provide Young with the initial inspiration for his art and with the motivation for design, sequence, and pace. Accuracy in research is essential to his work, too – whether he is illustrating fantasy, folk tale, or fact. According to Young, a strong foundation of credibility must be established in order to create new and exciting images. Through such images, he hopes to capture his readers and ultimately expand their awareness.
Young’s quest for challenge and growth are central in his role as illustrator. “Before I am involved with a project I must be moved, and as I try something exciting, I grow. It is my purpose to stimulate growth in the reader as an active participant as well,” Young explains. “I feel the story has to be exciting, and a moving experience for a child.”
A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Young has since taught at the Pratt Institute, Yale University, Naropa Institute, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. In 1990, his book Lon Po Po was awarded the Caldecott Medal. He has also received two Caldecott Honors – for The Emperor and the Kite and Seven Blind Mice – and was twice nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the highest international recognition given to children's book authors and illustrators who have made a lasting contribution to children's literature.
Young lives in Westchester County, New York, with his two daughters, and two cats.
Ed Young (illustrator)
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Ed Young
Young at the Mazza Museum 2013 conference
Young at the Mazza Museum 2013 conference
Born Ed (Tse-chun) Young
November 28, 1931 (age 88)
Tianjin, China
Occupation Illustrator, writer
Nationality American
Period 1962–present
Genre Children's picture books
Notable awards Caldecott Medal
1990
Ed Tse-chun Young (Chinese: 杨志成; pinyin: Yáng Zhìchéng; born November 28, 1931) is a Chinese-born American illustrator and writer of children's picture books. He won one Caldecott Medal for the year's best American picture book and for his lifetime contribution as a children's illustrator he was twice the U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
Contents
1 Biography
2 Work
3 Exhibits
4 T'ai chi
5 Awards and honors
6 Works
6.1 Self-Illustrated; for children
6.2 Illustrator
7 Film
8 Art Exhibits
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
Biography
Ed Young was born on November 28, 1931 in Tianjin, China. When he was three years old, he and his family moved to Shanghai. His mother would ring a bell at mealtimes, and he would slide down the banister with his brothers and sisters. "I have never lost the child in me. My father would spin endless tales of his own to entertain our imaginations on summer nights lying on the flat roof of our house. I have never forgotten the images I saw in my mind." From an early age, Ed loved to create stories and draw pictures and thought he could "disappear" into his own world, brought to life through his illustrations.
In 1951, Young came to the U.S. to study architecture. Instead, he grew more interested in art, and soon switched his major. Young's first job was with a New York advertising agency where he spent his lunch breaks sketching animals at Central Park Zoo. During that time, he received a letter from his father which said, "A successful life and a happy life is one measured by how much you have accomplished for others and not one measured by how much you have done for yourself." According to Young, "I understood then that to realize my potential as an artist was subservient to my worth as a human being. To be truly successful, I needed to find a place where my work would also inspire others to fuller and happier lives. I wished to share with everyone my father's words about success – work can, in fact, be the rooftop from which we launch ourselves to higher places."[citation needed] In search of something more expansive, expressive, and timeless, Young discovered all this, and more, in children's books.
Work
Young's first book, The Mean Mouse and Other Mean Stories, was published by Harper & Row in 1962. He expected it to be his first and last book, but it won an American Institute of Graphic Arts award and launched a career that has resulted in almost one hundred books for children. Most of his books are visual masterpieces using colors and images to convey hidden symbolism. His meticulously rendered works have utilized pencil, pastel, cut paper, collage, ink, photographs, and found materials.
"A Chinese painting is often accompanied by words. They are complementary. There are things that words do that pictures never can, and likewise, there are images that words can never describe. I feel the story has to be an exciting and moving experience for a child. Before I am involved with a project, I must be moved, and, as I grow, I try to create something exciting. It is my purpose to stimulate growth in the reader as an active participant. To get the story across for me, mostly it's the feeling. I think that if the book evokes a reaction of some sort, either positive or negative, I think it would have done what it is supposed to do."[citation needed]
The subject and style of each story provide Young with the initial inspiration for his art and with the motivation for design, sequence, and pace. Accuracy in research is essential to his work, too – whether he is illustrating fantasy, folk tale, or fact. According to Young, a strong foundation of credibility must be established in order to create new and exciting images. Through such images, he hopes to capture his readers and ultimately expand their awareness.
Young won the 1990 Caldecott Medal for illustrating Lon Po Po, his version of a Red-Riding Hood story from China. The annual award from the American Library Association recognizes the previous year's "most distinguished American picture book for children".[1] He has also been a runner-up twice (two Honor Books), for The Emperor and the Kite and Seven Blind Mice.[1] For his lifetime contribution as a children's illustrator, he was U.S. nominee in both 1992 and 2000 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition available to creators of children's books.[2] In 2016, Young was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award (Contemporary) from the Society of Illustrators.[3]
According to Young, "Producing a book becomes part of the spirit of each person who touched it and those who'd touched them." During a Horn Book acceptance speech, Young spoke about the 'Eight Matters of the Heart', the place where he said that he puts his mind before he does his work (for more information, read Young's book, Voices of the Heart.) When asked to elaborate, he said, "We put ourselves in jeopardy in life if we don't have our mind and body in the right place. The eight matters must accompany me wherever I tread so that I know the time that I have in this world is well spent."[citation needed]
Exhibits
Young's original art for his books has been the subject of exhibits such as "Journey Without End" at the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature in Abiline, Texas (2011–2012).[4] He has participated in many group shows such as the Michaelson Gallery's Children’s Illustration Celebration.[5]
T'ai chi
In 1964, Young met the renowned t'ai chi master, Cheng Man-ch'ing. He became one of Cheng's top disciples in America, and was one of his two principal translators. Besides being a master of t'ai chi and Chinese medicine, Cheng was a highly respected master of Chinese painting, poetry and calligraphy. Being Chinese and an artist, Young was able to appreciate and absorb much of what Cheng had to say in those fields. Young is now a respected t'ai chi master in his own right, and has been teaching t'ai chi students for over three decades. He also enjoys swimming and says that his favorite sound is the sound of waves lapping the shore.
Awards and honors
Young has received over fifty awards and honors for his work, among them:
Caldecott Medal: Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China 1990 [1]
Caldecott Honor: The Emperor and the Kite 1967 [1]
Caldecott Honor: Seven Blind Mice 1992[1]
Hans Christian Andersen Award U.S. nominee 1992 and 2000[2]
Mazza Medallion of Excellence for Artistic Diversity: 2002[citation needed]
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award - Nonfiction: The Double Life of Pocahontas 1984 [6]
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award - Picture book: Seven Blind Mice 1992 [6]
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award - Picture book: Lon Po Po 1990 [6]
Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor - Picture book: Yeh Shen 1983 [6]
Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature - Picture book: Wabi Sabi 2008-2009 [7]
Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature - Picture book: The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China 2011-2012 [7]
Washington Irving Children's Choice Book Award: Pinocchio 1997, The Hunter 2000[citation needed]
Publishers Weekly Best Illustrated Books selection: The House Baba Built 2011[citation needed]
Publishers Weekly Best Illustrated Books selection: Nighttime Ninja, 2012[citation needed]
Children's Book Council Children's Choice Award: Nighttime Ninja 2013[citation needed]
Society of Illustrators Lifetime Achievement Award 2016[citation needed]
The New York Times Best Illustrated Books 2016: Cat From Hunger Mountain[citation needed]
Eric Carle Museum Lifetime Achievement Award 2017[8]
Young's books have received the ALA Notable, Junior Library Guild, Parents' Choice, New York Times' Best Illustrated, Publishers Weekly Best Illustrated, and Boston Globe Horn Book Honors, among others.[citation needed] Many of his books have been translated into other languages.
Works
Self-Illustrated; for children
(With Hilary Beckett) The Rooster's Horns: A Chinese Puppet Play to Make and Perform, 1978.
(Reteller) The Terrible Nung Gwama: A Chinese Folktale, 1978.
(Adaptor) The Lion and the Mouse: An Aesop Fable, 1979.
High on a Hill: A Book of Chinese Riddles, 1980.
Up a Tree, 1983.
The Other Bone, 1984.
(Translator) Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China, 1989.
(Reteller) Seven Blind Mice, 1992 (a version of The Blind men and an elephant).
(Reteller) Moon Mother: A Narrative American Creation Tale, 1993.
(Reteller) Red Thread, 1993.
(Reteller) Little Plum, 1994.
(Reteller) Donkey Trouble, 1995.
(Adaptor) Pinocchio, 1995.
(Reteller) Night Visitors, 1995.
Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese zodiac, 1995.
(Reteller) Mouse Match: A Chinese Folktale, 1997 (a version of The Mouse Turned into a Maid).
(Adaptor) Genesis, 1997.
Voices of the Heart, 1997.
(Reteller) The Lost Horse: A Chinese Folktale, 1998.
Monkey King, 2001.
What About Me?, 2002.
I, Doko: The Tale of the Basket, 2004.
Sons of the Dragon King, 2004.
Beyond the Great Mountains, 2005.
My Mei Mei, 2006.
Tiger of the Snows, 2006.
Hook, 2009.
The House Baba Built, 2011.
Should You Be a River, 2015.
Cat From Hunger Mountain, 2016.
Voices of the Heart, 2019. (New edition).
(Reteller, with Stephen Cowan)The Weather’s Bet, 2020 (a version of Aesop The Wind and the Sun).
Illustrator
Janice May Udry, The Mean Mouse and Other Mean Stories, 1962.
Leland B. Jacobs and Sally Nohelty, editors, Poetry for Young Scientists, 1964.
Margaret Hillert, The Yellow Boat, 1966.
Jane Yolen, The Emperor and the Kite, 1967.
Robert Wyndam, editor, Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes, 1968.
Kermit Krueger, The Golden Swans: A Picture Story from Thailand, 1969.
Mel Evans, The Tiniest Sound, 1969.
Jane Yolen, The Seventh Mandarin, 1970.
Renee K. Weiss, The Bird from the Sea, 1970.
Diane Wolkstein, Eight Thousand Stones: A Chinese Folktale, 1972.
Jane Yolen, The Girl Who Loved the Wind, 1972.
L. C. Hunt, editor, The Horse from Nowhere, 1973.
Donnarae MacCann and Olga Richard, The Child's First Books, 1973.
Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, 1973.
Diane Wolkstein, The Red Lion: A Tale of Ancient Persia, 1977.
Feenie Ziner, Cricket Boy: A Chinese Tale, 1977.
N. J. Dawood, Tales from the Arabian Nights, 1978.
Diane Wolkstein, White Wave: A Chinese Tale, 1979.
Priscilla Jaquith, Bo Rabbit Smart for True: Folktales from the Gullah, 1981.
Al-Ling Louie, Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China, 1982.
Mary Scioscia, Bicycle Rider, 1983.
Rafe Martin, Foolish Rabbit's Big Mistake, 1985.
Jean Fritz, The Double Life of Pocahontas, 1985.
Margaret Leaf, Eyes of the Dragon, 1987.
James Howe, I Wish I Were a Butterfly, 1987.
Tony Johnston, Whale Song, 1987.
Richard Lewis, In the Night, Still Dark, 1988.
Nancy Larrick, editor, Cats Are Cats, 1988.
Robert Frost, Birches, 1988.
Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince, 1989.
Lafcadio Hearn, The Voice of the Great Bell, retold by Margaret Hodges, 1989.
Ruth Y. Radin, High in the Mountains, 1989.
Nancy Larrick, editor, Mice Are Nice, 1990.
Richard Lewis, All of You Was Singing, 1991.
Nancy White Carlstrom, Goodbye, Geese, 1991.
Barabara Savage Horton, What Comes in Spring?, 1992.
Mary Calhoun, While I Sleep, 1992.
Audrey Osofsky, Dreamcatcher, 1992.
Laura Krauss Melmed, The First Song Ever Sung, 1993.
Eleanor Coerr, Sadako, 1993.
Isaac Olaleye, Bitter Bananas, 1994.
Shulamith Levey Oppenheim, reteller, Iblis, 1994.
Penny Pollock, reteller, The Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella Story, 1996 ( a Native American version of Cinderella)
Lisa Westberg Peters, October Smiled Back, 1996.
Jack London, White Fang, 1999.
Mary Casanova, The Hunter: A Chinese Folktale, 2000.
Dorothea P. Seeber, A Pup Just for Me—A Boy Just for Me, 2000.
Tony Johnston, Desert Song, 2000.
Nikki Grimes, Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China, 2004.
Andrea Cheng, Shanghai Messenger, 2005.
Dennis Haseley, Twenty Heartbeats, 2008.
Mark Reibstein, Wabi Sabi, 2008.
Kimiko Kajikawa, Tsunami!, 2009.
Brenda Z. Guiberson, Moon Bear, 2010.
Robert Burleigh, Tiger of the Snows: Tenzing Norgay: The Boy Whose Dream Was Everest, 2010.
Ashley Ramsden, Seven Fathers 2011.
Michelle Cuevas, The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant 2011.
Marilyn Singer, A Strange Place to Call Home: The World's Most Dangerous Habitats & the Animals That Call Them Home, 2012.
Barbara DaCosta, Nighttime Ninja, 2012.
Gary Golio, Bird and Diz, 2015.
Barbara DaCosta, Mighty Moby, 2017.
Gary Golio, Smile: How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry), 2019.
Mark Reibstein, Yugen, 2019.
Brenda Peterson, Catastrophe by the Sea, 2019.
Barbara DaCosta, Night Shadows, 2020.
Film
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, based on the story by Eleanor Coerr
Art Exhibits
"Picturing Poetry." Group exhibit. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. November 17, 2012 – May 12, 2013.
"Journey Without End." Solo exhibit. National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, Abiline, Texas (2011–2012).
Ed Young
CITY OF BIRTH
Tienstin
COUNTRY OF BIRTH
China
CURRENT CITY
Hastings-on-Hudson
CURRENT STATE/PROVIDENCE
New York
CURRENT COUNTRY
United States of America
Ed Young, winner of the 1990 Caldecott Medal, has illustrated over 40 books for children, four of which he has also written. He cites the philosophy of Chinese painting as his inspiration. “A Chinese painting is often accompanied by words,” explains Young. “They are complementary. There are things that words do that pictures never can, and likewise, there are images that words can never describe.”
Content and the telling of the tale itself provide Young with the initial inspiration for his art and with the motivation for page design and sequence. Accuracy in research is essential to his work - whether he is illustrating fantasy, folk tale, or fact. According to Ed, a strong foundation in credibility must be established in order to create new and exciting images. Through such images, he hopes to capture his readers and ultimately stimulate some sort of awareness in them.
Challenge and growth are central to Ed's role as illustrator, and it is this quest for growth that caused him to move away from advertising in the 1960s. He wanted something more expansive, something more expressive. Ed found what he was looking for in children's books. “I feel the story has to be an exciting and moving experience for a child,” Young explains. “Before I am involved with a project, I must be moved, and as I grow, I try to create something exciting. It is my purpose to stimulate growth in the reader as an active participant.”
Ed Young was born in Tienstin, China. He grew up in Shanghai and later moved to Hong Kong. He came to the United States as a young man on a student visa. A graduate of the Los Angeles Art Center, Young has since taught at the Pratt Institute, Yale University, Naropa Institute, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He currently lives with his wife in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
Young, Ed THE WEATHER'S BET Philomel (Children's Fiction) $18.99 3, 31 ISBN: 978-0-525-51382-7
Three heavenly powers look down upon a shepherd girl and bet which one can knock her cap off.
Young's atmospheric, textured artwork conjures the natural forces vying to mess with a mortal's cap in this loose retelling of an old Aesop's fable. Photographs, fabric, and paper (sometimes torn, sometimes cut) cohere in evocative collages that capture both the expansive powers of Wind, Rain, and Sun as well as the young girl's brown skin, cheekbones, eyelashes, and strands of ebony hair. Weather blows, mists, and shines in teeming double-page, full-bleed spreads. Occasional sharp lines and solid color (the red cap serves as a cardinal beacon) give readers sound footing to navigate the complex collages. Distinguishing landmasses, sheep, the girl, and sky from one another sometimes requires squinting, but looking at these challenging compositions feels exhilarating--like standing, happily drenched, in a swirling storm. Cowan's simple, consistent rhyme provides reassuring scaffolding that keeps readers from blowing away. Upon hearing the pleasing verse "For with the passing morning storm, / She laughed her cap off as she got warm," young people will feel warmth spread in their little souls too. Frontmatter explicates the symbols assigned to Wind, Rain, and Sun, which were created using Chinese pictograms and appear throughout.
Awe-inspiring artwork as powerful as any force of nature. (Picture book. 4-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Young, Ed: THE WEATHER'S BET." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2020. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A611140278/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c0e4729c. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.
Peterson, Brenda CATASTROPHE BY THE SEA West Margin Press (Children's Fiction) $16.99 9, 24 ISBN: 978-1-5132-6234-5
A lost Siamese cat learns about life on an ocean beach and in a tide pool.
Catastrophe the cat has wandered too far from home, ending up alone on a beach. He is befriended by several sea creatures who speak kindly to him. These characters include a sea anemone named Naimonee and a barnacle named Buddy. Dancing crabs and sand dollars join Buddy and pals in a "barnacle band" as they click their shells like castanets. Catastrophe survives being sucked into the tide pool by the undertow, and he is eventually rescued by two brown-skinned children who recognize him from lost-cat posters they have seen in the area. Caldecott Medalist Young's collage illustrations are intriguing but mysterious, as it is sometimes difficult to identify characters, and the text often feels out of sync with the illustrations. Buddy the barnacle in particular is problematic, as he is a main character but is seldom shown and difficult to spot. Many of the torn-paper collage illustrations of the cat are compelling, and the variety of textures and effects achieved with the combination of different papers is fascinating when perused closely. As explained in an afterword, the fanciful story was developed in partnership with the Seattle Aquarium as an effort to increase empathy for sea life.
A well-intended, unusual, but not entirely successful story bringing sea creatures into focus. (Picture book. 4-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Peterson, Brenda: CATASTROPHE BY THE SEA." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2019. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A593064600/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=1d8105e2. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.
Golio, Gary SMILE Candlewick (Children's Informational) $17.99 3, 26 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9761-7
Children meet Chaplin in this intimate biography of the iconic silent-film comedian, whose movies, humor, and story grow ever more distant to each generation of readers.
Children unaware of Chaplin will immediately feel moved by young Charlie's bleak origins: an empty stomach, dancing for pennies, an absent father and sick mother, and frequent moves in and out of the poorhouse. They will pull for him hamming it up in a children's theater troupe and stand beside him watching "old Rummy Binks," a local eccentric, outside a pub holding horses for pennies. Charlie would later appropriate Binks' baggy clothes, bowler hat, crooked cane, and funny penguin walk to become his own Little Tramp, making the close association between laughter and tears. Young's collages harness muddy and murky colors, silhouettes, torn papers, threadbare burlap and floral fabrics, jaundiced newspapers, and ink linework to evoke both Victorian times and the silent-film era. A succinct afterword, facts, and resources section offers kid-friendly biographical highlights, films, and books to encourage further exploration of this extraordinary comedian, filmmaker, and composer. Observant readers might notice the black silhouette of a little tramp in the bottom-right corner of each spread. Those intuitive enough to flip the pages will delight in a primitive but undeniably magical experience.
Readers who watch him waddle their way and extend a wave are certain to return his timeless greeting. (Picture book/biography. 6-12)
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"Golio, Gary: SMILE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2019. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A571549061/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b3643ef0. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.
Yugen. By Mark Reibstein. Illus. by Ed Young. 2018.32p. Seven Stories/Triangle Square, $17.95 (9781609808655). K-Gr. 3.
Subtly rhyming haiku relate the poignant story, told from a child's viewpoint, of a mother who leaves home, returns, and leaves again. Both the poetry and illustrations reveal the love between the mother and son. When they are together, they watch blossoms drift down from the cherry trees and spend evenings admiring the moon and sharing warm baths. When she goes to Japan the first time without her son, the two agree to pick a star and think of the other, which seems to shorten the distance between them. The love connecting the two is obvious, which makes the void she leaves behind heartbreaking and the boy's confusion and sorrow palpable. In a naive fantasy, when one of his cats disappears, the boy imagines the creature has gone in search of his mother. Young's illustrations, which appear to have been created with charcoal on textured paper, are mostly blurred outlines without facial features or many details, and the text and pictures skillfully combine to portray the emotions of a small boy who is left to wonder if his absent mother will ever return. The author's note defines the Japanese word yugen as "subtle and profound," which will be how readers describe their feelings about this second collaboration from Reibstein and Young, after Wabi Sabi (2008).--Maryann Owen
YA RECOMMENDATIONS
* Young adult recommendations for adult, audio, and reference titles reviewed in this issue have been contributed by the Booklist staff and by reviewers Poornima Apte, Michael Cart, John Charles, Deborah Donovan, Courtney Eathorne, Lucy Lockley, Anna Mickelsen, Colleen Mondor, Melissa Norstedt, James Pekoll, Jennifer Rothschild, Whitney Scott, and LynnDee Wathen.
* Adult titles recommended for teens are marked with the following symbols: YA, for books of general YA interest; YA/C, for books with particular curriculum value; YA/S, for books that will appeal most to teens with a special interest in a specific subject; and YA/M, for books best suited to mature teens.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
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Owen, Maryann. "Yugen." Booklist, vol. 115, no. 3, 1 Oct. 2018, p. 84. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A557838158/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=1f3debb3. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.
COWAN, Stephen. The Weather's Bet. illus. by Ed Young. 32p. Philomel. Mar. 2020. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780525513827.
K-Gr 3--Despite how much humans feel they control the world, Wind, Rain, and Sun will always be the Earth's primary powers. One day, Wind, Rain, and Sun observe a shepherd sleeping on a hill with her sheep. For fun, Wind bets the others that it can make her lose her cap. It tries blasting her with a gale so strong she has to hold on to keep from flying away, but her cap stays on. Next, Rain attempts to soak her hat off, but this is likewise unsuccessful. Finally, Sun emerges from behind the clouds to bathe the Earth in its warm glow, trying its hand at removing the cap. The heat of the sun finally wears the shepherd down, but she knows in her heart who the winner truly is. This retelling of "The Wind and the Sun" is both lyrical and profound, using select, spare language to tell the story. Rhyming phrases are pleasing to the ear, but the complexity of the story's message goes deeper than the text itself. Young's illustrations are striking, composed of paper collage and occasionally shifting orientation to add to their dynamic quality. The text is superimposed expertly upon the images, making them function as one and the same. Additionally, Chinese character representations of Wind, Rain, and Sun appear throughout the book as their powers are mentioned. VERDICT Elementary school classrooms seeking another approach to Earth Day will appreciate the mysterious beauty within the pages of this book.--Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver Public Library
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Lanni, Mary. "COWAN, Stephen. The Weather's Bet." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 2, Feb. 2020, p. 50. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A613048716/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=61523e23. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.
PETERSON, Brenda. Catastrophe by the Sea. illus. by Ed Young. 32p. West Margin Pr. Sept. 2019. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781513262345.
K-Gr 3--The marine creatures living in the tide pool along the ocean's edge are at first alarmed by the cat that has pounced his way diere, a long way from home. But after a stinging confrontation between the cat and a sea anemone turns amicable, the other sea creatures extend a welcome to Catastrophe the cat as well. Catastrophe learns about the diverse lifestyles of the ocean creatures and is sad when he can't find them after a strong and violent tide nearly washes them all away. However, Catastrophe soon learns of the amazing resilience of the sea animals and develops a strong affinity and appreciation for them as individuals. Through characters such as Buddy the barnacle and Naimonee the anemone as well as a dance troupe of crabs and a band of barnacles, young readers will learn some of the characteristics that make these creatures unique. Written by acclaimed nature writer Peterson, in partnership with the Seattie Aquarium, the uniquely creative picture book tells an adventure story that builds awareness, understanding, and empathy for a world that some may overlook or take for granted. There is a wealth of information and inspiration to learn by observing the teamwork and survival skills of the smallest of living things. Young's distinctive collage artwork is phenomenal and adds texture and detail to the story that is integral to the moods of the book. VERDICT A harmonious picture book that celebrates biodiversity and builds empathy.--Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE
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Shepherd, Amy. "PETERSON, Brenda. Catastrophe by the Sea." School Library Journal, vol. 65, no. 8, Sept. 2019, p. 103. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A597858987/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d2ff71ac. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.
GOLIO, Gary. Smile: How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry). illus. by Ed Young. 48p. bibliog. idfilmog. further reading, notes. Candlewick. Mar. 2019. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780763697617.
Gr 1-5--The duo that illuminated musicians Bird and Diz present the backstory of an internationally acclaimed silent film star, director, and composer. Golio has wisely selected moments from Chaplin's 19th-century London childhood that are laden with sensory components or emotional connections: "Laughing children with colored balloons / A flower seller with his jingly cart and horse...." Scaffolding the heights and depths of life with an absent actor father and a musical mother whose illness led to the poorhouse, the author traces experiences Charlie and his brother absorbed before becoming vaudevillians themselves (the book concludes before adult complexities arise). Throughout pratfalls with troupes in England and America, the siblings and their audiences discerned that "Laughter and Tears were brothers, too." Young's inventive, mixed-media collages play with this duality by balancing subdued scenes with bursts of joyous color. The penultimate spread depicts the tramp costume, freshly fashioned for cinema, stretching diagonally across the gutter--a brown shadow emerging from a patchwork canopy snipped from previous scenes. It echoes the burlap crowd from Chaplin's earliest street dances and prepares readers for the final iconic photograph. Thoughtful design presents the blank verse rendered in white on black--or the reverse--paying homage to the subject's filmmaking, as does the tramp silhouette on the base of each recto that animates when flipped. VERDICT Adults will appreciate the informative and creative approach, as well as the afterword, bibliography, and textual nod to the titular lyrics. Children will cheer for the class clown's success.--Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library
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Lukehart, Wendy. "GOLIO, Gary. Smile: How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry)." School Library Journal, vol. 65, no. 2, Mar. 2019, p. 125+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A576210386/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e4181d08. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.
REIBSTEIN, Mark. Yugen. illus. by Ed Young. 36p. Triangle Square. Sept. 2018. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9781609808655.
Gr 4-6-Having collaborated on the award-winning Wabi Sabi, Reibstein and Young return here to examine a mother and son bond. "Yugen" is both a term of endearment for protagonist Eugene and a word encompassing "the subtle and profound ... the sad beauty of human suffering," according to an author's note. Written from the child's perspective, the haiku describe how Yugen's mother held him when it was cold, placed blankets under the cherry tree so they could watch the petals "fall like snow," and invented imaginary jaunts to Japan as they climbed into a "deep hot bath." Each spread presents one haiku in the Japanese style--a single vertical line without periods. Characterized by sensory images and an atmosphere of fleeting joy, they are bordered on the verso by warm, textured art with the look of papyrus. This also becomes the canvas for Young's charcoal scenes on the recto. At times, the strong figural outlines evoke Mary Cassatt; others are softly blurred, without features, or they emerge from negative space. When the mother is "gone again," reunion seems more tenuous; Yugen communes with his cat while undertaking familiar rituals. Sensitive older readers will respond to his wistful yearning, feeling the pleasure and pain of memory that accompanies love and separation. VERDICT A gorgeously crafted, complex work. A strong choice for robust poetry collections.--Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library
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Lukehart, Wendy. "REIBSTEIN, Mark. Yugen." School Library Journal, vol. 64, no. 10, Oct. 2018, p. 94. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A556838517/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=69f1fe15. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.